Scott, Manuel and I went to see the Art of the Pacific Collection at LACMA, and afterwards, we went to dinner at Fu's Palace, formerly Wan Q, where we discovered something neat!

Scott was already snapping photos when we arrived, and he pointed out something we had not noticed the last time we were there: right at the pinnacle of the main A-frame, over the front entrance, were two tiki torches! We were amazed! I don't recall anyone pointing out those torches before.

We went inside and checked out the big stone fountain, vainly searching for some leftover scrap of tiki, but to no avail.

Then, we were seated, and within moments, a table nearby had a huge flaming shell bowl delivered to them. Whoa! A Scorpion bowl! We missed that last time were were there, too!

Or feisty server came to take our order and we immediately requested one of the flaming bowls.

The menu had a PuPu Platter and... Rumaki! This place was getting tikier by the minute!

So Scott had the Rumaki as an appetizer, along with the scorpion bowl... in Wan Q (for all intents and purposes)... so Tiki of him!

During our meal, we asked several staff members about the torches, and the had no idea they even existed.

There is a back patio at the restaurant, and while we were eating, Manuel casually mentioned that he saw a couple of anchors hidden behind the palm trees. Scott's and my tiki radar instantly registered a potential tiki unearthing. After dinner, he hurried out back, and sure enough, there were two gigantic anchors. One was leaning against the back fence, mostly blocked from view by a patch of ferns. The other was against the ground, overgrown with a thick thatch of grasses, the only part uncovered was the top, but it was unmistakably an anchor.

We were surprised and excited! An anchor has no place in a Chinese restaurant, but EVERY place in a Tiki restaurant! Manuel most likely discovered some of the last existing remnants of Wan-Q!

Speaking of tiki remnants, sadly we discovered that the pier-pylon-like pieces of wood that adorned the outside of the restaurant have been removed, making it less tiki on the exterior. However, similar pylons can be seen holding up the Fu's Palace parking lot sign behind the restaurant, which must have been the Wan Q parking lot in it's day.

Wan-Q was a long time family favorite, and when my father was a young attorney just starting out, he was contacted by a restaurant owner who had just opened his restaurant, and who reported the landlord, after having 9 failed restaurant tenants, was harassing him for more money. My father then helped him and stopped the landlord. We used to go there, and Benny would try and comp the dinner. My father always refused, and said if Benny wanted to do something, cook a dish for us. The almond duck, which Benny cooked, was like no other.

We started eating there in the early 1950's, when Wan-Q was a single room, and continued going there as it expanded. I remember how proud Benny was of the additional rooms and the waterfalls, and how he had tried to depict his memories of China landscapes (which I don't think he ever returned to visit). I can remember as a child going through the bar (with all the waterfalls) and being transported far away from West LA.

The Chinese chicken salad (jar du gai) was also better than anything I have had (the recipe ultimately appeared in the LA Times) and was seemingly similar to the New China Moon recipe in old Chinatown. I can remember it coming on a dish, covered by a metal cover, pressed into a mound, with snow peas and shredded chicken covering the lettuce.

Many of the items (highly exotic by 1950's and 1960's standards) are now recognizable as such dim sum staples as har gow, sui mei). The egg rolls and foil chicken are still some of the best I have had.

Benny and his wife Maime were always gracious hosts, and their tradition continued with their children. This style of restaurant, with the obvious pride in operating, is sorely missed.